


Blind

by CaesarVulpes



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blind Character, Gen, M/M, any ableism is accidental, not sure if Kylux but probably Kylux, will probably not have traditional chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-06-05 19:11:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6717859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaesarVulpes/pseuds/CaesarVulpes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There had been something strange about Kylo Ren from the moment Hux met him. In the snow, as Starkiller crumbles beneath his boots, he finds his answer. </p>
<p>Inspired by a theory on Reddit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here is the Reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/StarWarsLeaks/comments/3wg5xw/discussion_of_an_alleged_spoiler_is_kylo_ren_blind/  
> I read it and thought, damn that would have been cool. Another wedge driven between him and his family, another point for Snoke to work with. Another thing for Hux to both be an asshole about and surprisingly not be an asshole about.

             

_“—stronger than she knows!”_

_"And the droid?”_

“Ren believed it was no longer valuable to us.”

The look on Kylo Ren’s face had been satisfying to the very base of General Hux’s being, even through the helpless rage that threatened to make his hands shake—his victory, the galaxy in the _palm of his kriffing hand_ , was at stake because of Kylo Ren’s absurd fixation with this girl.

Ren’s childish anger had shifted down into shame faster than he thought possible, especially given that he hadn’t believed Ren capable of shame. Ren quickly averted his gaze, turning back to face the Supreme Leader as Hux continued. God, he had needed that.

“That the girl was all we needed.”

Even after, he found his thoughts lingering on Ren’s face. There had been something strange about those eyes. Some quality to them he couldn’t place.

In the snow, he found his answer. For a moment Hux was petrified they’d taken too long to find him, that his unfocused eyes were glazed with death, his face ashen where it wasn’t scorched. Snoke would kill him for this, he knew, would kill him slowly and publically for his failures. He let out a gasp of relief when Ren shifted, held out a hand to help him up, intending to carry him back if need be.

Ren didn’t respond.

“Don’t be a child, we’ve no time for your…” Ren’s head snapped suddenly toward him as he spoke and he stopped, struck by the realization, the links finally connecting into a perfect chain, snapping taut in the well-oiled workings of his reasoning.

“Your…”

Kylo Ren’s eyes were still unfocused, their pupils oddly foggy. Just as they had been before Snoke, staring off in what Hux had assumed was an attempt at steel indifference. It wasn’t, and everything felt like it had fallen into place.

Ren couldn’t see him.

He gaped for a moment, the planet’s death rattles seemingly distant, irrelevant.

“You’re blind.”

He didn’t wait for a response, instead reaching down and taking Ren by his least injured arm and hauling him to his feet. Ren swayed dangerously, groaned in pain, and Hux looped the arm over his shoulders and began to carry him back to the transport, nose wrinkling at his stench of blood and burnt flesh. The ground lurched and screamed under his feet, the troopers’ shouts becoming more and more frantic as the planet broke around them.

He allowed himself to relax as they broke the atmosphere, allowed himself to sag and bury his face in his hands. With no audience save for the unconscious Kylo Ren, he was free to be crushed under the weight of his defeat. It had felt like his whole life was leading up to Starkiller, and now it was gone. He’d had the galaxy on a silver platter for a short, glorious moment, and then Kylo Ren had come along and fucked it all up with one mistake. He wanted to crush Ren’s throat while he lie there being fussed over by a couple of med droids, wanted to scream profanities he’d consider spacing an inferior officer for. He had done everything perfectly, or nearly so, and Starkiller was still reduced to red-hot space debris.

It was like drowning, like being held underwater by the ankles as Ren dragged him down with him. He took a deep breath through his nose, focused instead on the last revelation.

Ren was blind. Had he always been blind? How could he have missed that? Another egregious failure, another of Ren’s complications.

No, he couldn’t afford to think like that. Humility was one thing, self-pity was quite another. He sent his thoughts back, trying to pick out every odd incident.

The first that he could remember was that Ren had never once interacted with a display. Every lift ride together, every datapad exchanged between them, every inane tantrum, and Ren had never once touched a single button, switch, anything. He’d seen him once, with something that looked like a datapad, one glove removed—pale, exposed skin shocking and nearly scandalous for its rarity—and he had assumed that what Ren was doing was tracing the words as he read them. He supposed he was half right.

Beyond that it was all tiny detail, head movements when someone spoke, the way Ren would often seem to be looking down as he walked. A minute incline of his head, but noticeable in hindsight.

Ren was blind. There was a factor he hadn’t been aware of. It would have to be addressed. It was calming, in a way, to have this one issue to focus on. He could do nothing for Starkiller, do nothing to strike back at the Resistance for weeks yet, if not months. This, however, this oversight, he could work with.


	2. Chapter 2

Ren was taken to medical immediately upon reaching the Finalizer. The next two days were a hassle, but they were enough to keep him from dwelling on his defeat, even if his time was mostly spent cleaning up after it. By the time a pair of troopers came to the bridge tell him that Ren was awake, he was ready. His hands were steady and his mind was clear.

Well. Calm, at least. The kind of calm that balanced perfectly at the tranquil center of absolute rage.

When he arrived in medbay Ren was sitting up in bed, sulking. He tensed immediately at Hux’s approach, fists clenching in the thin sheets. Ren’s posture was defensive, if pained; shoulders hunched, chin tucked against his chest. Hux wasn’t sure if he was proud to be the person Ren least wanted to find out.  He stood silent for a moment, taking in the bandages covering his shoulder, the barely-healed slash to his face. The reflection of the harsh lighting in Ren’s foggy eyes, and how the left one looked just slightly inward toward his nose. They were barely noticeable, just a slight dullness and lack of response to the bright light, but it was enough that someone would have noticed eventually.

“So.”

Ren scowled. “Don’t.”

“How long have you been blind?”

Ren’s face twisted, rage folding the angry wound into stark red.

“Since I was born.”

“I’m almost impressed.”

“Shut up.” Ren’s voice was much softer than Hux would’ve thought, tinged as it was with vitriol and residual pain. His face much too young, now that he thought about it.

“How do you get around so easily?”

Ren was silent, brooding. Rage flared in Hux’s chest and for once he didn’t entirely crush it.

“You owe me, Ren. After the stunt you pulled with the scavenger, after months of putting up with your kriffing tantrums, the least you can do is answer me,” Hux says, and he was dimly aware that his voice was rising, “My life’s work is space dust because of you.”

Ren looked a little shocked, his eyes widening, mouth slightly open. Perhaps it was the crude language, or that Hux never raised his voice in anger. He was above such things, such crude methods of command. Hux hated Ren all the more for it, for dragging him down to his level.

“…the Force, mostly. And practice.”

Hux scoffed. Of course. How could he forget? Magic.

Ren glowered and ignored him.

“I can sense the things around me, the people, hear them when they move. It’s not difficult.”

“But you can’t read.”

Ren shook his head. “Not standard Basic, no. I can’t sense detail very well in the first place, it needs texture for me to have any chance, even with the Force.”

“I suppose that makes sense. Anything else I should know?”

There was a beat of silence, Ren’s brow furrowing. It was becoming quite interesting to watch the barely-healed scar twist and fold with each movement of his incredibly expressive face. “What?”

“Are there any other…accommodations I should be making for you?” Hux sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose against an oncoming headache. “Stars, Ren, you could’ve made things so much more efficient just telling me from the beginning.”

Color rose in Ren’s pale cheeks, his hands twisted in the rough medbay sheets.

“I don’t need you to accommodate me, _General._ ” He spoke the last word as though it were a curse, a grave slight.

“Clearly you do, since you can’t see holo-displays and standard datapads are essentially useless to you. What _are_ you trying to prove?”

He hadn’t intended to raise his voice again, but damn it everything was in ruins and _Kylo Ren was still being difficult._ He hated Ren for this, for making Hux sink to his level. Ren looked ready to murder him, a nearby cleaning droid fizzled and popped as he clenched his fist. Hux scoffed. Typical Ren, and he was dragging Hux down with him. He could feel the migraine starting to form behind his eyes.

“…it gets harder in crowds.”

It took a moment to process that Ren had actually answered honestly.

 “…excuse me?”

Ren gritted his teeth, dark eyes closed and brows furrowed. Hux was suddenly glad his lightsaber was in another room.

“Minds cause interference. The more there are, the harder it is to grasp my surroundings.”

Hux nodded. He supposed that made sense. “Very well.”

He took out his datapad and began taking notes. Ren could not sense well in crowds. Color-coding was useless to him, and he felt that too much of their organization relied on it. He required a datapad that could either produce braille or read aloud to him, as he had broken his previous one. He needed a new mask fabricated, but until then he could hide his face with his hood. The mask had very specific elements to aid in his perception, he would send Hux the schematics and improvements as soon as possible.

This, Hux could work with. He supposed he could divert power from the lights in Ren’s quarters, to conserve even just a little would be a great help. And the specifications for Ren’s new mask would have to factor into the budget, possibly out of the Kylo Ren Tantrum Fund, as Phasma liked to call it.

This, he could work with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd really appreciate feedback on this. I feel like it's clumsy in some ways and I'd love some input on what's working and what isn't so I can make it better for you guys. Thanks so much for all the kudos!


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